ballpoint

Note: This was written last year. I am putting this into my wordpress blog because I think I should have readers read about Mother and her influences to me. In addition, the National Teachers Month is about to conclude in a few days, so through this post, I would like to “glorify” teaching despite some frustrations over the past few days.

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Some years ago, I wrote about my favorite teachers from grade school to college. Before finishing it off, I decided to include my mother since she was actually my first teacher. I didn’t write much about her, so as my final post, I would like to pay tribute to my mother, whom I miss very much.

Just a piece of information, Mother died February 3 last year. I was at the school canteen when I received a text message from my sister Pamela. The message said, “Yet, umuli ka na, wara na si Ma.” I honestly felt good about it knowing that Mother had been bedridden for months; nevertheless, the thought that she was already dead got me thinking of the good old days when she was still strong and could still laugh or whine about her missing eyeglasses.

While I wanted to be a nurse or a journalist back then, I think that Mother’s being a teacher was a big influence to me early on. As young as four years old, I would visit her in her classroom (the school was a stone’s throw away), and while she blabbered in front of her students, I would scribble jagged lines on the board. I joined her students in singing the songs she taught them. My favorite song was “One Little Candle”, which I memorized even if I didn’t know how to read yet.

Mother was also my first dance teacher. She danced gracefully. I can remember being paired with one of her pupils, and we were taught cha-cha. Apart from cha-cha, I learned the basic steps of folk dancing. And during one school program, she made me join in a play (I was insistent to play the role of a character named Wendy hahaha).

Then I started reciting the multiplication table, the days of the week, the planets of the solar system, the nations of the world, and Philippine provinces without much understanding of what they were–all these show how good a teacher she was. To complete my school boy image, I had a bag which had only one notebook and some crayons and pencils. Sometimes, I would borrow Mother’s pupil’s ballpoint even if I didn’t know how to write yet.

Growing up, I would accompany Mother whenever she allowed me to. So I got to know her friends’ houses. By this time, I already knew how to crochet (she taught me that). She also took me to long-distance travels and would tell me stories about the places we passed by. It was always a worthwhile experience being with her.

When I started going to school, I was left in the care of my grannies (mother’s parents). It meant five days of the week without Mother at home, because she was assigned in a far barrio. But while that was the situation, I did pretty well at school. When she was home on weekends, she would take us to the movies during which I got to eat Pretzels and popcorn or to Palamigan for some pancit with the sumptuous morcon. And when she had time, she would help us with our homework.

Mother being away from us was both an advantage and a disadvantage. But since I want this piece to appear positive, I would dwell on the good points. Her absence made me rely completely on myself. I never had anything bar me from doing well at school. So year after year, Mother would come up the stage with me to receive some accolades. Until college, she did completely the same thing every end of school year. When I had the biggest problem in college and I got hit by a professor, she never left me yet she didn’t bring the matter to court. She said we didn’t have money to pay for the lawyer’s fees, so she simply humbled herself by forgiving the erring guy.

Yet, what I can say is the best lesson I learned from her is being strong what with the countless woes she had to go through especially when she was very ill. She withstood the discomfort, the anxiety, and most of all the pain that seemed to batter her each day. Those who are close to me say I am a strong person and whenever that is said, I humbly take the flattery. However, my strength is nothing compared with Mother’s. It is matchless. She is matchless.

I thank Mother not only because she taught me countless things but more importantly because she brought me into this world, where I have tried to equal her in the best way I can